What are the possible shortcomings of american preschools?

Question

i need to critique the american preschool system and now i need the weaknesses

Answer 1

Like another person said before me, the lack of teacher certification is huge. So many women go into preschools to teach who have never sat in even one child development class. And because of that, why should early childhood educators get paid well if they are not trained in what they do?

I think another reason is that the majority of American preschools are not designed with developmentally appropriate practices. Children are expected to sit for most of the day and work on the same thing as the entire group. Children who are 3 and 4 years old are very self-centered and are not at the point where working on the same activities as friends is interesting. They have their own needs, and need to learn at their own pace. I work in a Montessori preschool and it allows children to develop their needs individually. It also gives the children freedom of movement, but of course, there are limits and rules to such a big privilege.

Speaking about parents not teaching their children correct behaviors at home, I can see where this would come into play in typical American preschools. In a Montessori preschool, the children have so many examples of the proper behavior through actual lessons they practice, or by watching older children (the classroom is mixed ages 2.5-6). I heard about a  traditional preschool owner saying once, "I don't want to bother with all the philosophy of Montessori, I just want the behaviors that come out of Montessori children." You can't have one without the other.

Lastly, our government is a big weakness for this area. They have decided to focus on children in elementary, middle, and high school, but have completely left out the most important years in a person's life, the years under the age of 6. These years are when the brain is developing the fast and trying to make the most neurons connect. Children need to be exposed to an environment that will help foster those connections and develop a strong base for learning. But the government has not stepped in to say this is important. These early years need help (especially with money to run decent preschools), and our government has not shown much care for it.

Answer 2

Lack of teacher training. Class ratio size too large. Teachers under paid. The list goes on and on. Unless you work for a center that is accredited by NAEYC or you work in a Chid development center located on a military installation. Those facilities are the exception to most preschools.

Answer 3

The problem/weakness you'll find in nearly any preschool across the nation is too little funding. The profession itself isn't respected by the public, which means not a lot of money goes into it. This makes it nearly impossible to hire and retain highly qualified teachers, meaning we're left with untrained, young, burnt out caretakers in our schools. If that doesn't change, nothing will ever improve.

The licensing standards are another weakness. They require only the bare minimum health and safety regulations, with little regard to teacher training, developmentally appropriate practice, or family involvement. NAEYC's accreditation standards are more in line with what schools should be held accountable to, but again, there is not enough funding. Some schools are barely scraping by, barely meeting the base health and safety regulations, and they just can't get any further.

Another weakness is that some teachers, in some programs, just give up. They don't want to get trained, they don't want to go to conferences or continuing education opportunities. They figure that anyone in the world can take care of a child, without realizing that it takes special training and committment to properly education a child. Any monkey can ensure that a child doesn't play with matches and has something to eat every 4 hours. But it takes professionals in the field to create a stimulating environment, plan developmentally appropriate activities, support natural development, and challenge children appropriately.

There is a lot wrong with the system as it stands right now, but there are some wonderful schools out there with very dedicated, capable employees. Please don't give up on the field entirely - these children deserve the best we have to offer. And their teachers, when they perform well, deserve to be compensated for all that they do. $6.50 an hour just doesn't cut it.

Answer 4

I think that the most important issue facing many Americans concerning preschool is the lack of availability.  The answers above only address educational matters which is fine but there is so much more to it than that.  No preschool program in this country meets the needs of middle income families.  Head Start and other State funded preschool programs assist low income families and children with special needs and have a income cut-off.  Children from upper middle class and upper class families can afford to go to privately funded preschools.  That leaves the majority of children in this country without the opportunity to go to preschool because their parents make too much money to qualify for Head Start but not enough money to send them to a privately funded program.  I know that some states do have Pre-K within their public schools but I am not sure how it is funded. Do parents have to pay tuition?

I believe that preschool is the key to building a strong foundation in a child's educational career.  It should be free and it should be part of the public school systems.  If this were to happen it would cause a rift in our education system and some sort of reform would need to take place.  Many private programs would be forced to find alternative funding and Head Start would have to open it's doors to everyone.

Answer 5

SInce I work with a lot of preschools and daycares (I'm a storyteller for the public library) I have noticed that the teachers do not enforce a lot of the rules. Most of the time the kids just run wild and the teachers sit there and let them do whatever.

I also hear a lot of the parents that go to other storytimes complain that they pulled their kids from their preschool/daycare because all the teachers did was show films. Storytime is usually the only exposure to letters and numbers that the schools have.

Answer 6

I think the main problems exist in many private preschools.  I'm in the teacher education program at my school, and recently did some of my observations at several Children's Courtyard in  the area.  There was no structure in the room, the children were free to run around, play and do whatever they wanted.  I though preeschool was supposed to be preparing children for Kindegarten and not be childcare.  But I believe that public school preschools are more structed and provided  a better learning enviornment, than many of the private preschools.  Of course I understand not all private preschools are run like the Children's Courtyard.  I also did some observations at the a few Primrose Schools in the area, and found the teachers to be better trained, and provided a more structured and balanced learning enviornment.

Answer 7

In response to your question, I have to address the issue that in preschools, students should be open and fresh and ready to learn. Many of them come into the system with pre-conceived notions about people. This experience progresses into the middle school enviornment - where I work. One of the weaknesses that I see as an educator is that PARENTS do not prepare their children enough from the home.  Too many parents have the idea that the school system is responsible for teaching and training their children in every aspect of life.  There is not enough training in correct behavior and respect and responsiblity towards adults.  Teachers have been put in a position where they have to be not only parents, but everything else.  Their ability to socialize and the art of fairplay can sometimes be difficult for preschool children, particularly in certain neighborhoods where education of the adults is limited. Children come into the school system cursing and using other violent and foul language and do not have any clue or idea that this is inappropriate talk.  Many of the parents are so young, they barely know how to care for themselves.  This is just ONE of the issues I see.

Answer 8

Part-time preschool programs usually are OK. However, preschools in day care programs, and day care programs in general I believe are little more than babysitting.Preschools may pay better. But in a full-time full-day day care center Pay is so low, a four-yr degreed teacher makes half of what a public school elementary Kindergarten teacher would make, yet the day care teacher would be working yr round w/ little benefits. And some states like ohio require you to only have a high school diploma to be a preschool teacher. What quality is there ???? my degree is in infant/toddler care. however, if I applied at a day care center I would get a job in a preschool room, since the I would 'cost' too much money for a caregiving position in a baby room. I have had directors tell me you don't need any degree or training to work with the babies or toddlers. Thank goodness I now work at a federal early age program. Where a degree is required and respected. That's my beef with American care. right up there with the parents. they have gone crazy. demanding. acusing. talking to their child about how their teacher wasn't good to them that day. expecting preK teachers to change diapers for the kids the parents didn't bother to potty-train. expecting the school to 'teach' their child. I actually have two parents in my class that have NEVER met me, not visited the school. The bus picks up their toddler (now three) and brings them to school. Moms do NOT work, and they DO have a car. yet they are no-shows for conferences and no shows for home visitations. What type of parent would send off thier baby to school w/o ever meeting the teacher ????? happens all the time now.